Improvement in materials for stuffing mattresses



U NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT J. KELLETT, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPRO'VEMENT IN MATERIALS FOR STUEFING MATTRESSES, &c.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 130,141, dated August 6, 1872.

SPECIFICATION.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT J. KELLETT, of San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented or discovered an Improved Material for Stuffing Mattresses and other purposes and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the same.

The nature of my invention or discovery consists in the use ofa plant called maguey, of the cactus or century-plant species, remarkable for having thick, fleshy stems, generally without leaves, but having spines or sinews running through it.

The plant is a native of tropical America, and is found in abundance in lower California and I have discovered that with proper treatment these sinews may be employed as a substitute for curled hair in stufiing mattresses and other articles of furniture; and for hemp and flax in making rope and cordage; and for bristles in the manufacture of brushes; and also be employed in the manufacture of matting and mats for covering floors; and also be made into a pulp for the manufacture of paper, the product being much better for the purposes than other vegetable fiber yet discovered.

The stems or stalks of the plant are gathered and placed in Water to ferment and rot, so that the fleshy or pulpy portion may be separated from the fiber, which takes from three to five weeks. It is then taken from the rottin g-tank and beaten, so as to get rid of all the superfluous matter, after which I dry the fiber and curl it by passing it over a hot cylinder, or spin it into ropes after the manner of curling hair.

The productis much whiter, finer, and tougher than that of other vegetable fibers employed for analogous purposes, and does not seem to lose its curling properties so rapidly, having a near approximation to curled hair without its offensive odor.

As an excellent and cheap substitute for brushes, it will not be found necessary to curl the fiber, but it is cut up into the necessary lengths for the purpose.

As a further treatment the fiber may be dipped in some gelatinous substance, and then treated to a bath of tannic acid in solution, which will have a tende cy to make it more springy or elastic.

Having thus described my invention or discovery, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The fibrous product of the maguey or cactus plant as a new article of manufacture, as set forth, for the purposes specified.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

ROBERT J. KELLETT.

Witnesses:

G. W. M. SMITH, PHILIP MAHLER. 

